You don’t need to have driven over the five-mile Oresund crossing between Denmark and Sweden to understand its importance. Any fan of the Nordic noir TV crime series The Bridge will be aware of how it facilitates borderless movement between the two countries to such an extent that they are virtually indistinguishable. Police officers dash back and forth between Copenhagen and Malmo into each other’s jurisdictions without a by-your-leave. So, too, do the criminals.

The Government plans to launch a text message alert service similar to those used by Amazon and other online retailers that will alert people about public services.

The initiative is designed to save almost £600 million by cutting down on the use of call centres, face-to-face meetings and other public-facing government operations.

The automated system, called Notify, is based on those used by internet retailers to update shoppers about deliveries, and will see members of the public receiving a text message, email or letter when an MOT is up for renewal, or when student finance applications are being processed.Read more